New York Magazine

A House in Manhattan for Under $1 Million

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This former rooming house—not an SRO, Yearwood emphasizes, since it doesn’t require a hard-to-get certificate of non-harassment—is full of original fixtures: mahogany doors, wood cabinetry, four marble fireplaces. Many of the other townhouses on this pretty street have already been rehabbed.

This one’s all potential, for now: boarded-up windows, chipped façade, and chain-link fence out front. (The interior’s just as rough.) Previous owners started demolition work on one floor, but construction halted midway, leaving a lot of detail intact, says Horowitz. The rest of the block is quite handsome.

Prescod says this former SRO has its non-harassment paperwork in order, so financing should be obtainable and construction can begin. Wainscoting, molding, and decorative mantels are all intact, though the interior definitely needs heavy refurbishing.

The work on this one has already been done. The owners, who bought it in 2007 and are selling to fund their local ministry, live on the top three floors and rent out the garden apartment. Listing broker Angela Ward says she’s been showing it “around the clock” and expects it to go soon.

This three-unit house is still classified as an SRO, and the seller has begun the process of obtaining the all-important certificate of non-harassment. It’s in passable shape inside, with a new roof and boiler. Brown notes that “it’s a short sale”—that is, it’s going for less than the amount the owners owe, so their bank has to approve the deal.

This four-story house has a retail space for extra income. But there’s a big catch: Squatters occupied the house for years, and the last of them, until recently, would accost Higgins and screech at her during showings. The crazy lady’s gone now, but the property needs a lot of help, from top (the roof) to bottom (the floors need to be torn out and replaced).

Located somewhat unusually on an avenue block of brownstones, this SRO near 127th Street is chopped up with kitchenettes and communal bathrooms and lacks a certificate of occupancy. If you’re willing to do the work, there’s plenty of reward: pocket doors, wood moldings, a large mirror original to the house.

A freestanding house with a serious sob story: Its owners lost it to foreclosure on the brink of finishing a renovation. “My heart dropped when I walked in,” says Mitchell. “They were so close!” It has an owner’s duplex and two rentals, and needs a few final details finished: One window needs to be reframed.

Another SRO that lacks its certificate of non-harassment, so its current tenants will need to sign off before you can proceed with reconstruction, says broker Crystal Burns. Tin ceilings, granite entryway, and original banisters and doors are all intact.